Through the Shadowlands
You keep repeating the same patterns. Are they even yours? Schedule a free consultationIf you’ve found me, you already know something isn’t working.
You know yourself well.
You can name what’s happening.
But some things just won’t move.
The anger or grief that never left after a separation or loss.
The romantic partners who are never quite the right fit, always in the same way.
The work or creative projects that don’t gain traction, even though you’ve worked on the perfectionism and overwhelm.
The leadership you won’t step into.
The guilt or sabotage that comes with any modicum of success.
If you can’t shift these patterns no matter what you try, it’s time to go into the shadows and find out why.
“I would absolutely recommend Sara’s services to anyone who is struggling to go through the door where the light doesn’t shine through.”
somewhere underneathWHAT LIVES IN THE SHADOWLANDS
The things you thought were yours alone.
The shameful parts.
The patterns you’ve tried to hide or fix or outrun.
Most of them didn’t start with you.
There are three things I find in the darkness with almost everyone I work with, rooted in the unspoken rules, unacknowledged losses, and unresolved stories of your family system.
The Double Bind of Belonging Part of you wants to move forward. Part of you, somewhere underneath, will not. This isn’t a willpower problem. It’s a belonging problem. The push and pull between who you want to be and the unspoken rules of where you came from.
Entanglement in Generational Trauma You’re living out something that belongs to someone who came before you. Not because of what you consciously know about your family, but because of what was never spoken, never acknowledged, never given its rightful place.
Existential and Inherited Emotions The anger that keeps coming back no matter how much you process it. The grief and disappointment with no end. The anxiety your intellect can’t touch. These aren’t just yours.
Hi, I’m Sara Taylor, PhD.
Neuroscientist. Former psychology professor. Generational and existential coach.
I work at the intersection of generational healing, family systems, and somatic approaches. The layers underneath what the other work couldn’t touch.
When my clients put down what was never theirs to carry, they can finally move forward.
HOW WE WORK
Most people who find me have already done a lot of talking about their patterns. They know them well. What they haven’t been able to do is move them.
So we go underneath the story you already know by heart.
The first few weeks are collaborative research. I map your family system across generations, tracking the key patterns, losses, and unresolved stories. Then we meet to walk through what I found and identify where to focus.
From there we go in.
Using a process rooted in family constellations, we work with imagery, sensation, and the parts of your history that have never had a place. We step into the dynamics rather than talking about them. What we find is usually something the story was missing entirely.
We also build your capacity to be with the emotions that have been running things. Not to make them go away. To take that power back.
There will be a messy middle. Old identities, roles, and coping strategies come down before new ones form. That’s the work of change. It helps to have a guide who has been through it herself and knows it’s survivable.
“After years of traditional work on myself (therapy, medication, exercise, emdr, etc), I realized I needed something outside of the norm. All of those things are great and help build a foundation, but it’s hard to know where to go after that on your own. I was ready to get past merely existing and coping. It’s like I’m doing everything for the first time.”
What’s Included
Phase 1: Mapping the Territory (month one) Collaborative research into your biographical and ancestral history. You complete a detailed intake. I spend up to three hours researching your family system, mapping the key patterns, losses, and unresolved stories across generations. We meet for a roadmap session where I walk you through what I found and we identify where to focus.
Phase 2: The Deep Work (months two through six) Nine bi-weekly 75 minute sessions working through the patterns we identified. Constellation work, somatic emotional expansion, existential inquiry. We go where the work takes us.
Throughout: Six months of email support for updates, reflections, and questions between sessions. Resources and practices tailored to reinforce what shifts in sessions.
Investment: $2,970 $495 per month over six months.
Optional continuation containers available for those who want to keep going.
“This work is a good fit for people who’ve worked with other practitioners and are doing their own work but continue to feel stuck. This falls in the top three of best money I ever spent.“
“Sara is safe to get deep with. She is trustworthy and really listens.
I would almost say, don’t use Sara if you don’t want to get to the issues.“
What Becomes Possible
When the patterns that have been running things from the shadows finally shift, something changes in how you move through your life.
Not because you managed them better. Because you met what was in the darkness and gave it a place.
The anger or grief that wouldn’t soften, softens.
The creative or professional momentum that wouldn’t budge, moves.
The relationships that felt impossible start to move.
The weight lifts.
You know who you are.
You’re present and ready for your life.
“There is no longer a persistent feeling of heaviness. The weight has lifted and I am noticing and engaging in things that delight me.”
“The biggest transformation I experienced is that I know who I am. And it’s impacted absolutely every aspect of my life.”
take the first step
Shadowlands Consultation
If something on this page has landed, the next step is a free 60 minute conversation. We’ll look at what’s been keeping you stuck and if this work is the right fit for where you are.
Frequently Asked questions
HOw is this different than therapy?
First, I’m not a licensed mental health therapist or counselor. I have a PhD in neuroscience and work as a coach. I don’t diagnose or treat mental or behavioral health conditions and this work is not a substitute for therapy or psychiatric care.
What I do is for after therapy. It’s closer to shadow work and post-traumatic growth work combined. We’re not managing symptoms. I assume you already have ways to do that and that you use them.
We’re looking at going from functional but not satisfied to actually moving forward. Subclinical anxiety and depression come up because they’re part of being human, not because they’re incapacitating.
This t is not a container for gentle holding. It’s a container for change. You will be challenged. The people who get the most from this work are ready for that.
who is this a good fit for?
You’ve done some body based or somatic work and know what it feels like to sit with discomfort without immediately trying to fix it.
You’re post therapy and ready to move beyond symptom management into something deeper.
You can see that your parents were human and that what they did had consequences for you, but you don’t blame them for everything.
You’re done with how things have been working and you’re ready to look at what you’ve been avoiding. Even if that’s uncomfortable.
You are at a relatively stable place in your life. If you have a complex trauma history involving sexual or physical abuse that you haven’t yet worked through in therapy, foundational trauma therapy is the right first step before this work.
You are not pregnant or in the fourth trimester.
What is the committment expected of me?
The sessions are the primary place where change happens. Early on there’s some additional time spent writing about your family and personal history. Most sessions will generate a short practice or reflection to carry forward. We keep these simple, often just a minute or two. The work moves in you between sessions too. That’s part of how it works.
How do I get started?
Scheduling a free consultation is the best place to start. It’s a goodness of fit call, not a high pressure sales call. When you book you’ll find a link to a short readiness form. Complete that before we meet. Based on your written reflection and our time together I’ll be able to tell you what I’m seeing, what you might expect, and whether this program is the right fit for you now.
WHAT IF I HAVEN'T DONE SOMATIC OR BODY BASED WORK?
Some somatic foundation is helpful for this work. If you haven’t done any body based work yet, a good place to start is the free Emotional Expansion resource linked below. It introduces a core practice we use to build capacity for difficult emotions in the body. If you want more support with that before diving into the full program, the Core Pattern Intensive is a lower stakes way to get a felt sense of how we work together.
I'm not sure I'm ready for this
That makes sense. This is big work and it does require that you have some coping tools already. That’s part of what we assess in the consultation. Trust your gut. It could be that another time is more appropriate, or another practitioner. If you want a lower stakes entry point the Core Pattern Intensive is a good place to start. Or email me at sara@sarabtaylor.com if you’ve got specific concerns.
Do I need to know all my family history?
Not as much as you might think. Part of what I do in Phase 1 is genealogical research to help fill in the gaps. You’ll need to know the basics, who’s in your family, any stories you’ve heard. Most people know more than they think they do. In my experience it’s never not been enough to work with.
Will this clear all my generational trauma?
I believe it is neither your responsibility nor a possibility to clear all of your lineage’s trauma. It’s one of those things that “takes a village” over many generations, you know? Instead we focus on what you want and tackle what’s in your way, because that’s the most effective, potent, and rewarding way to go.
What we do in six months is set you up to have real experience working with the relevant boulders on your path. When you come upon a similar stone later you’ll know what to do, or you can get targeted help if you get stuck.
Depending on what you want and how much generational trauma is behind you and how it’s been held, you may want to continue beyond six months. You can do that through single sessions or a three month container to help you continue to carry your fate with more ease.
What If I've already done ancestral work with you
If you’ve completed a previous program with me I recommend continuation work. You can book a single session or schedule a consult for a personalized container based on your current challenge and availability.
“When you’ve tried everything else, including therapy and coaching, and you’re still wrestling with the same issues or unable to move forward in your life, there’s likely something deeper involved.”
Shadowlands Consultation
Ready to find out what’s been running things?